[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 726 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 726

To require licenses for the sale, purchase, and distribution of certain 
   chemicals that are precursors to chemical weapons, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 12, 2003

   Mr. Engel (for himself, Mr. Israel, Mrs. Maloney, Ms. Norton, Mr. 
 Grijalva, Mr. Case, Mr. Bishop of New York, and Mr. Owens) introduced 
 the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                                Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require licenses for the sale, purchase, and distribution of certain 
   chemicals that are precursors to chemical weapons, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

     This Act may be cited as the ``Chemical Attack Prevention Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

     For purposes of this Act:
            (1) The term ``chemical weapon precursor'' means a Schedule 
        1 chemical agent or a Schedule 2 chemical agent, as such terms 
        are defined in section 3 of the Chemical Weapons Convention 
        Implementation Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6701).
            (2) The term ``licensee'' means a person holding a license 
        under this Act.
            (3) The term ``qualified person'' means a person found by 
        the Secretary to meet such qualifications as the Secretary may, 
        by rule, prescribe to protect the public health and safety from 
        the misuse of chemical weapon precursors. No person who has 
        been convicted of a criminal offense under this Act or under 
        any similar or related provision of Federal or State law shall 
        be a qualified person for purposes of this Act.
            (4) The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of Commerce.

SEC. 3. LICENSE REQUIRED.

     After December 31, 2003, no person may purchase, sell, or 
distribute in interstate commerce any chemical weapon precursor unless 
such person is licensed under section 4.

SEC. 4. ISSUANCE OF LICENSES.

    (a) Application.--Any qualified person may submit to the Secretary 
an application for a license to purchase, sell, or distribute in 
interstate commerce a chemical weapon precursor.
    (b) Issuance.--Upon receiving an application containing such 
information as the Secretary may require, the Secretary is authorized 
to issue a license to such person to purchase, sell, or distribute in 
interstate commerce a chemical weapon precursor if the Secretary finds 
that such person is a qualified person and if such person agrees to 
comply with this Act and the regulations under this Act.
    (c) Term; Revocation.--A license under this section shall remain in 
effect for such term as the Secretary may prescribe, except that the 
Secretary may at any time revoke such license if the Secretary 
determines that the licensee has failed or refused to comply with this 
Act or any regulation under this Act.

SEC. 5. REQUIREMENTS FOR MAINTENANCE OF LICENSE.

     Each licensee shall comply with each of the following requirements 
and such other requirements as the Secretary may establish by rule to 
carry out the purposes of this Act:
            (1) The licensee shall report any suspicious purchases of 
        chemical weapon precursors.
            (2) The licensee shall maintain and make available to the 
        Secretary and to Federal, State, and local law enforcement 
        authorities records of the purchase, sale, or distribution of 
        chemical weapon precursors. Such records shall be in such form 
        and shall contain such information as the Secretary shall, by 
        rule, prescribe.

SEC. 6. PENALTIES FOR VIOLATION.

     Any person who violates any provision of this Act or any 
regulation under this Act shall be subject to a civil penalty of not 
more than $10,000 for a first offense and not more than $20,000 for a 
second or subsequent offense. If such violation was intentional, such 
person shall be subject to a criminal penalty of up to 10 years in 
prison in addition to such civil penalties.
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